The present invention relates generally to communications devices and, more particularly, to portable, handheld wireless communications devices.
Handheld wireless communications devices, such as radiotelephones, have become increasingly popular for both personal and commercial use. However, with their increase in popularity, radiotelephones have also undergone miniaturization to facilitate storage and portability. Indeed, some contemporary radiotelephone models are only 9-12 centimeters in length.
A potential impediment to radiotelephone miniaturization can be conventional battery packs that provide power to radiotelephones. Typically mounted to the back of a radiotelephone, a conventional battery pack can increase the thickness of a radiotelephone. In addition to increasing thickness, battery packs attached to radiotelephones in conventional ways may also result in devices having non-ergonomic shapes which may be awkward to use.
FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate various conventional handheld radiotelephone styles with battery packs attached thereto. In FIG. 1A, a conventional radiotelephone 10 is illustrated having a battery pack 12 secured to a rear portion of the radiotelephone housing 14. FIG. 1B illustrates a xe2x80x9cflip phonexe2x80x9d style radiotelephone 10xe2x80x2 having a battery pack 12xe2x80x2 secured to a rear portion of the radiotelephone housing 14xe2x80x2. FIGS. 1C and 1D illustrate a xe2x80x9cclam shellxe2x80x9d style radiotelephone 10xe2x80x3 having a housing 14xe2x80x3 that is configured to pivot between open (FIG. 1C) and closed (FIG. 1D) positions. A battery pack 12xe2x80x3 is secured to a portion of the housing 14xe2x80x3, as illustrated. As illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1D, the thickness of each radiotelephone is increased by the respective battery pack secured thereto. Radiotelephone thickness may be further increased when optional high capacity batteries are used.
In addition, as handheld radiotelephones undergo miniaturization, the distance between a radiotelephone speaker and microphone can decrease. For various ergonomic reasons, there may be a limit below which it is undesirable to decrease the distance between the speaker and microphone of a handheld radiotelephone. A user may find it difficult or awkward to speak into a microphone of a handheld device that is not located adjacent to his or her mouth. Also, acoustic performance may decrease as the distance between mouth and microphone is increased. As a result, further miniaturization of handheld radiotelephones may be constrained because of a desire not to further decrease the distance between the speaker and microphone.
In view of the above, it is, therefore, an object of the present invention to accommodate miniaturization of handheld communication devices, such as radiotelephones.
It is another object of the present invention to ergonomically enhance handheld communications devices undergoing miniaturization, such as radiotelephones.
These and other objects of the present invention are provided, according to a first embodiment of the present invention, by a handheld radiotelephone having a battery pack removably secured to an end portion thereof and wherein a passageway in the battery pack is in acoustic communication with a microphone disposed within the radiotelephone. The battery pack has a contour that preferably conforms to the contour of the radiotelephone.
The microphone within the housing is in electrical communication with a transceiver and is also in acoustic communication with an aperture provided in the end portion to which the battery pack is removably secured. A passageway extends through the battery pack from a sound inlet in a front portion of the battery pack to a sound outlet in an end portion of the battery pack. The sound outlet is in acoustic communication with the aperture when the battery pack is removably secured to the radiotelephone end portion. Accordingly, the sound inlet is in acoustic communication with the microphone via the passageway.
According to a second embodiment of the present invention, a battery pack may be configured to be removably secured to a handheld radiotelephone at an angle relative to the radiotelephone. By securing the battery pack at an angle, a radiotelephone can be given a generally concave shape that generally follows the shape of a user""s head from the user""s ear to the user""s mouth.
According to a third embodiment of the present invention, a xe2x80x9cflipxe2x80x9d battery pack, having an acoustic passageway as described above, may be hinged is to a radiotelephone end portion so as to be movable between a closed position and an open position. Alternatively, the xe2x80x9cflipxe2x80x9d battery pack may contain a microphone therewithin in lieu of the acoustic passageway.
Handheld radiotelephones having battery packs secured to an end portion thereof according to the various embodiments of the present invention can have a slimmer profile than conventional handheld radiotelephones. Slimmer profiles may facilitate storage and portability. Furthermore, because a battery pack according to the present invention provides a sound inlet close to a user""s mouth, the effective distance between the microphone and speaker of a radiotelephone may be increased, even though overall radiotelephone size is decreased. As a result, radiotelephone ergonomics may be enhanced.
According to additional embodiments of the present invention, multiple acoustic passageways may be provided through a radiotelephone housing and a battery pack removably secured to the radiotelephone housing. These multiple acoustic passageways may facilitate the reduction of unwanted ambient noise in a transmitted voice signal.